Visible crew/equipment: As the motorbike falls from the highway, just after it explodes there's a very short wide shot of the site with Danny Glover standing by his car and a couple of guys in hard hats standing around (or running for their life). If you look right behind Danny Glover you can see two people, one in a white hat, one in a red, and one of them is holding a camera - they start moving backwards just before the end of the shot. We then see the bike blowing up, then a close up shot of Danny Glover, from the camera we've just seen. (01:30:25)
Visible crew/equipment: 4 filming or equipment transport trucks can be briefly spotted on the highway above the accident in the chase scene. (01:32:36)
Visible crew/equipment: The camera crew is visible in the bed of Jack's truck as it exits the unfinished freeway and barrels through cones and other construction equipment. (01:36:40)
Visible crew/equipment: When Leo pulls up with the folks looking at Murtagh's house, film lights are reflected in both vehicles. They look very out of place.
Visible crew/equipment: When Riggs and Murtaugh go to see Billy, who has just been murdered, the camera and its operator are reflected in the interrogation room door.
Visible crew/equipment: As Riggs and Murtaugh start shooting at the construction site, a shadow of camera equipment can be seen on the pile of wood they are hiding behind.
Visible crew/equipment: Leo pulls up to the construction site and gets out of his vehicle. During this entire sequence, you can see a very obvious film light with a diffuser reflected in the driver's side of his red car.
Visible crew/equipment: Leo is arguing with Riggs and Murtaugh at the construction site about shooting out his tires. The camera pans over to see them leaving in their cruiser. The camera crew's feet can be seen in the bumper.
Visible crew/equipment: The first angle of the building exploding is from high up, looking down on the scene. There is a visible crane with a camera on it in the bottom left of this brief angle.
Visible crew/equipment: Right after Riggs saves Rianne's job, he and Murtaugh are driving in Rigg's vehicle. There is a shot looking through the driver's side window. Pay close attention to the reflection the truck makes in the glass on the buildings, you can see the crew and at least two cameras shooting the shot from a rig.
Answer: So what does it mean? "Nothing, " says screenwriter Jeffrey Boam. "It's a complete non sequitur. The (original) line was something like 'Close doesn't count, ' or 'Close only counts with horseshoes.' Dick (director Richard Donner) is a fun-loving guy," says Boam, "and this thought just popped into his head. He said, 'Let's have her say something completely off the wall.'" Boam, who wasn't on the set at the time, quickly faxed Donner a dozen meaningless lines that began with the words, "Close is..." Then the whole cast and crew started coming up with them. But the one they used came from Russo herself. "This is like some line from a Beatles song," says Boam. "I guess people are trying to figure it out."